


The Return:  Advent of Tomorrow

by yinyang2261



Series: The Return [1]
Category: The Tomorrow People (1973), The Tomorrow People (1992)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 18:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13218525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yinyang2261/pseuds/yinyang2261
Summary: Summary:  The arrival and reappearance of old friends and enemies, and continued antiquated ways of governing by the Galactic Trig presents new challenges for the Tomorrow People.Author's Notes:  After fifteen years, I've written a new Tomorrow People fan fiction story.  This is part 1 of 4.  Enjoy!





	The Return:  Advent of Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> A Tomorrow's Guardians serial

Prologue

Earth, March, 1979

The individual flew the spacecraft low and fast enough to not be seen by any government entities. The preplanned rendezvous area was quickly approaching. Finally, the pilot slowed the craft down in a green forested area. A side door opened and three humanoid individuals walked quickly down the ramp. The last had barely completely stepped off when the ship immediately raised back up towards the sky. Two males and a female took in their surroundings, awaiting their welcoming party.

At the edge of the immediate wood line, shadowed individuals appeared, wearing military-style clothing and armed with just as equally military level weapons. The trio of individuals remained silent as the soldiers surrounded them in a tactical style. Two men in suits broke ranks and continued to traverse the distance towards them, accompanied by two soldiers. 

The lead individual stuck out his hand, “Dr. Laird of the…”

He never got the rest of the words out as the enigmatic trio telekinetically threw the doctor and his assistant back towards the other soldiers. This prompted an immediate retaliatory attack with the utilization of their weapons but the three had already vanished. 

Before the soldiers could register this fact, the three reappeared throughout the perimeter and methodically engaged the soldiers with their telekinesis and telepathy. Using a soldier’s individual psychological fear, they forced them to fire their weapons at each other thinking they were seeing their most terrifying personal terror.

The battle was over before it had truly began, and they turned to each other. Satisfied at the annihilation of the enemies they had caused, they proceeded to their planned destination as communicated by The Core, their supreme leader in these proceedings, through a red crystal, which seemed to hum and glow continuously. 

It was a little while later when the doctor woke up, his back aching from the collision he had sustained. He slowly lifted his head to see his army was wiped out. His eyes widened as he came to the realization his unit had been betrayed. A sound from behind caused him to look about to discover lights and military style vehicles arriving. A familiar form approaching him quickly.

“Dr. Laird, you will come with me now. We have much to discuss.”

He regarded the female colonel and reluctantly took her proffered hand. 

End of prologue 

***  
Galactic Trig Station

“No, not members of the old Federation but members of a vigorous NEW Federation, which from now on will look to young people like yourselves for guidance.”

John tiredly remembered these words spoken by Timus two weeks ago as he sat in the empty conference room. He had been sitting there, alone with his thoughts for over an hour now, thoughts of other importance coursing through his mind. It had been a week since he had last heard from TIM. While this wasn’t the first time telepathic communication with the biotronic computer was haphazard due to the distance between the Trig and Earth, it still disturbed him nonetheless. 

“I thought I would find you here,” the familiar voice of Elizabeth said.

“I figured you might,” John said, a slight smile forming on his features.

Elizabeth observed her close friend of over five years. There were times since then, when she could tell what John was obsessing over. Lately, it seemed he was just grouchy. It was the best word she could come up with and she had a feeling it had something to do with missed and missing friends.

“Have you heard from Stephen and Tyso?” she tentatively asked.

“I have,” he grumbled out, “Where are the others?”

Changing the subject John? Okay, I understand, Elizabeth inwardly thought.

“They were headed toward the dining section. It is about that time to get a bite to eat,” Elizabeth said.

“Well, I suppose we should indulge in some sustenance then,” John said, a false cheerfulness in his voice.

Elizabeth was slightly disappointed, she hated seeing John like this. Thankfully, it didn’t happen to often but it had seemed to be occurring more recently this past year. They walked in silence to the dining facility. Once there, they picked up their food and walked in the direction that Mike, Hsui-Tai, and Andrew were already seated. 

Andrew saw the look Elizabeth gave him and he immediately looked at Mike, humor evident in his voice, “I told you she would find him there, you owe me ten pounds.”

“When we get back to Earth, I’ll give it to you,” Mike said, a slight annoyance in his voice.

Hsui-Tai chimed in her constant and soothing soft tone, “John, when will we be going back home?”

John shrugged, “When the Trig no longer requires our…. assistance.”

“Wondering if they ever will John,” Mike pointedly said, “I thought they were going to start listening to us after the Sorson/Thargon conflict.”

“Mike,” Elizabeth had commenced with the warning tone in her voice, a sign for the restless telepath to ease up on the subject. It was something Mike immediately picked up on and for the moment, reluctantly, he backed off. 

Andrew, the most recent telepath found within the past year caught the look between the two. It wasn’t often but it was enough for him to wonder about John’s state of mind for most of the past year. Him and Hsui-Tai were never able to get a proper explanation about this particular mood swing which would envelop the leader of the Tomorrow People periodically. Lately, he had begun to suspect it had something to do with past telepaths who were no longer on Earth due to a few situations which turned bad three years ago. A few had been forced into a medical exile from Earth due to a developed, synthesized bacterium that was extremely dangerous to telepaths; and the few others were assumed missing in time due to the machinations of a rogue Time Guardian. Andrew had inquired to TIM about the past situations but mostly, the biotronic computer would state when the time was right, it would be discussed and to give John the space he needed. 

“We should have a toast for friends who aren’t here,” Andrew said suddenly.

There was an abrupt silence at the table and Andrew thought that maybe he should have thought his actions through, preferably when he wasn’t thinking of a subject which affected his friends in complex ways. 

John slowly lifted his glass, soon to be followed by his telepathic friends, “A toast…to absent friends, however…and wherever, they may be,” John said, a slight hint of melancholy in his tone.

The other four telepaths raised their glasses, concern for their friend evidenced on their faces.

***  
Earth

The two-person crew of the Maria sat lazily on their chairs, taking in the sight of the upcoming dawn. Their schooner lazily bobbing in the ocean off the Scottish coastline. Jonas and Linda were enjoying their vacation from their government jobs. It had been a rough month with all the weird events going on about the world. 

A strong gust of wind almost made Jonas fall back into the cabin, it was only his intimate familiarity with his schooner that he instinctively managed to grab ahold of one of the metal bars fixed on top of the cabin. The intensity of the wind grew stronger as he made his way toward his fiancée, who had taken that time to precede towards him. 

“Stay there! I need to bring down the sails!”

Linda stayed where she was. The wind seemed to pick up as she intently watched as her lover struggled to unleash the rope which would bring the sails down. The schooner was starting to tip more dangerously as the unceasing winds continued their loud rumble. It frightened her because there was not one storm cloud in the sky to warrant this unusual weather. She felt the schooner suddenly tip back upwards and stabilize itself, as she herself managed to balance herself. The wind felt like it picked up even stronger afterwards.

“What’s going on?” she had to yell to be heard.

“I don’t know! I don’t see anything on the horizon to warrant this!” he practically yelled out.

An earsplitting burst sounded over their heads and before they could vocally respond, two more booms in rapid succession came, followed by what they could visually see, before instinctively hitting the deck, what looked to be an elongated shape with wings flying directly overhead. The roar of its engines was strong and quickly descended toward the still dark patterns of the land. 

The couple stayed motionless for more time than was necessary as they sorted their thoughts and bearings.

“Bloody hell, three sonic booms,” he whispered.

“I thought we came out here to get away from the weirdness of the past month,” Linda said.

The thoughts of the last month full of spaceships landing at the White House in America, aliens revealing themselves, and governments officially scrambling to seemingly put a normal spin on these recent worldwide events crossed their minds. 

“I’m putting in for an extra week,” he spontaneously replied as he went to the cabin to call in. Linda had nodded in agreement.

***

The spaceship which the couple had talked about sounded strong as it made a beeline to the Scottish shore. It was purposely coming in quickly and low to avoid detection by Scotland’s military radar. If one were to observe the beat up looking vessel from the outside, they would say that the ship was on the way towards a proper landing. The activity within the vessel was another story entirely.  
Alarms and the loud activity of machinery, engines, and music were making themselves known, with a sound which notified the five individuals that operations were not as they should, if they ever had been with their transport. The physical loudness was so intense that the crew’s occupants were speaking telepathically.

[I managed to stabilize the convertors but the automatics are shot. I’m having to keep my hand on it manually, which is quite hard if you can’t control the inertial gravity], Carol was barely able to keep her entire hand on the control disc needed to assist in keeping the ship flying. Her blonde hair, usually kept short before her journey in time, was grown and now flying in her face and eyes, causing her vision to blur due to the tears continually welling up from hair in her eyes; eyes attending to her friend’s duty at the moment to land the ship without them getting killed.

[I’m working on it but I’m not a mechanic, Carol!] Kenny continued to respond to the radically altered systems which constantly came with different data. It was all the young teenager and former ambassador of the Galactic Trig could do to keep the cockpit gravity from changing its intensity. [Maybe if our pilots can get this crate to settle down, how about it you air jockeys?]

Kenny’s gaze settled on the two individuals whose hands were rapidly working on the forward console, which seemed to be a combination of mechanical and telepathic type controls.

[[Working on it Kenny.]] Kim pathed, stress apparently in her voice as another bout of outside turbulence affected the ship. [[How’s your end coming?]] she asked her co-pilot.

The young man whose darkened features shown even more stress than Kim’s, pathed a quick response [[Not sure how my dad flew in those missions in World War II, but it certainly had to be better than this]]. Warren pathed a quick question to their fifth crew member, [[Autumn, have the stabilizing wings locked in yet?]]

Autumn Harvest Moon, former princess and diplomat of her Village Wolfskent had barely understood her friends question. It had taken much of the last year to barely hold a same language conversation with him and the rest of the crew, however she nevertheless, could pick up on the main ideas of their speech. [[I could if our ship would stop with this noise that is going through all the sections]].

|I need the noise called music as a way to monitor my readings and to keep focused| Staarla replied with a hint of agitation in her voice. |You worry about setting us down, I will worry about making sure nothing regarding programming crashes|

The music continued to swell as the crew in the cockpit continued to mechanically assist Staarla with the focused job of landing the ship. The ground swiftly came up underneath them and the sound of breaking tree limbs was distantly heard.

[The trees are slowing us down] Kenny pathed, hopeful they would survive yet another unorthodox landing.

[[I got the hover stoppage to work, that should allow us to have a controlled landing….I hope]] Kim hastily said.

[[Stay on target, I found an opening we can land in. Working on the landing hovers]] Warren looked at his longtime co-pilot of the past few months [Commencing in three…. two….one…. GO!]]

The two pilots simultaneously fired the hovers to bring the craft to a slowed, albeit, barely controlled descent toward the grassy area.

[This is going to hurt]. Carol pathed slightly fearfully.

The aptly named Starbird slid into a thick area of bushes and smaller trees. The sound of more wood breakage could be heard as the buildup of both destruction of bushes and music continued. And then, just as spontaneously…both stopped.

For a change, it was quiet in the cockpit, the occupants in a type of disbelieving daze that their journey could finally be over. They cautiously looked around the cabin, eyed the outside, and finally each other. The foursome in the cabin could only look at each other with such soulful appreciation, the months of continuous activity and danger had worked a number on all of them. Their shared experiences having shaped their small team to a well-cohesive unit. 

[[I got the ramp open, I’m headed outside]]. Autumn’s voice broke through the purposeful quiet. 

There was a slight reluctance for the remaining foursome to want to move, but Warren’s sudden, rushing break to get outside shattered the bonded quietness. 

“There he goes again,” an exasperated Kim noticed as she tiredly left her seat and headed out down the hallway. 

Kenny stood up from his seat and gentlemanly offered his hand to Carol, which she accepted, and together they walked in the direction Kim, had only seconds ago, walked through.

Autumn looked about the lush green environment and its roiling hills. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled Earth’s air. She paused, and slowly let her breath out, a smile forming on her slightly tan features. The holographic image of Staarla appeared standing next to her.

“This reminds me so much of my home, Staarla.”

Staarla observed the wistful sadness coming from the young woman. However, before she could respond, a horrendous retching noise, followed by the splatter of liquid hitting the ground made her holographic face scrunch up. She watched as Warren regurgitated whatever meal he had prior to this last trip. She glanced at Kim who also made a face and shook her head. 

|It was a bonafide miracle that these two could pilot the Starbird in the last two campaigns, what was Warden Brosef thinking anyway?| Staarla directed the question to Autumn.

Kenny and Carol stepped off the ramp and walked quietly in the grass, taking in the perfect smell of morning dew and ocean. 

“It’s a bit ironic how the son of a Tuskegee pilot gets air sick all the time,” Kenny snickered.

[[I heard that]] Warren mentally pathed to his friend. He slowly straightened himself up, careful to not to come up too fast for fear of regurgitating again. 

“Staarla, what is the year we are in?” Kim inquired.

|Give me a few seconds|

The holographic image of the woman had a faraway look on her face, and then came back to the present.

|Going by radio, newspaper, and television analog waves, we seem to have appeared on this date of March 5, 1979|

Autumn regarded her recent comrades-in-arms as they took in the information to closer scrutiny. There was a tense quietness again as they regarded their situation. 

“Peter and Zetner were right, we did lose close to three years,” Carol softly remarked. 

Kenny regarded the slight tearful response of his friend, he knew what she was thinking. Three years of not raising her son through a majority of his formative years, and for a telepath, the bond which developed within that time had to be tempered properly. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder while looking at the reactions from the rest of the group, which he suspected, were thinking along the same lines regarding Carol’s son. 

We’ve sure been through an awful lot this past year, Kenny privately thought. Still, being among three Advanced Telepaths, or ATPs as they were commonly called, and the Starbird’s telepathic AI image, he felt that him and Carol would need some alone time. He spoke in no uncertain terms that Carol and him would walk down to the nearest visually seen village which looked to be about a couple kilometers away to get some food and try to contact TIM. 

Warren looked a bit puzzled, “What’s going on with them?”

“I think they just need a break. Having three ATPs, it’s hard to not hear their surface thoughts and wonder about them,” Kim responded.

Warren winced his eyes in slight pain and nodded, which Kim noticed, prompting a stern response, “You know you should be wearing your sunglasses. Your eyes are still sensitive to light out here. You’ve only had your vision back for just over a couple months.”

She retrieved the shades lens from his left shirt pocket and handed them to him. He looked at her gratefully as he put them on. 

“Thank you,” he said as his fingers lingered on hers for a second longer then they should have. She responded with a rare, subtle shy smile, before resuming her stance as leader of the crew.

“Staarla, begin diagnostics on the Starbird. We’re going to have to fix her to make her space worthy again for at least one more time when we leave Earth. How long will that take?”

|This will take well into midafternoon for certain|

Kim nodded, her hand absently going through her hair, “Good. Let’s get started. Our journey is not over yet.”

|Actually Kim, I can handle all the diagnostics myself and prepare a summary and maintenance list of anything that will be required to fix whatever needs to be repaired|

Kim was taken aback by the hologram’s quick response and Warren thought she was going to insist on being part of the examination anyway, but instead, she just smiled, “This is good. I’m thinking about getting some shuteye then. Or a walk.” 

She quickly regarded a shocked Warren and a very quiet Autumn, both who had unsure looks on their faces.

“I would jaunt to my sister’s but our bodies are still recovering from the lack of our abilities for the majority of this past year, so might as well relax.”

I believe rest is to be the hoarder of the day, Kim,” Autumn agreed.

“Order Autumn. The word you were looking for is order,” Kim corrected, a smile on her face.

Autumn looked slightly downcast. It had been a challenge to figure out her companions’ language and it had only been recently when their powers returned, that she was able to grasp at least the main ideas of whatever it was they were talking about. Still, it would take time.

“No worries Autumn, you’ll get the hang of it. Just like we figured out your language,” Warren said.

Autumn took in the beautiful sky and land, “I say we enjoy the environment and lay about in the open air.”

The suggestion sounded good to the other telepaths and they proceeded to nearby trees as Staarla initiated the camouflage mode on the Starbird, effectively making it blend in with the surrounding physical environment. 

It had been a good idea. It wasn’t until now that Kim had realized that they had seemed to be constantly on the go since their so-called odyssey had begun back in….

Stupid time laws. I can’t decide if we’ve been gone for a year or 3 years. So much for an accurate report, Kim had thought, slightly frustrated. 

She glanced where Autumn and Warren were making themselves comfortable in the grass, the view of the ocean barely seen on the horizon. She regarded the two individuals whose hands she had placed her life in for the past year. The plain but earthly beauty she recognized in the former village princess, and the grounded attitude recently assumed from her formerly blinded colleague. Her gaze lingered a tad too long on the latter, more than she cared to admit. She looked in the direction which Carol and Kenny had walked, very much aware of thoughts which she was wary of having, much less analyzing them.

Carol and Kenny walked in silence for a while, separate thoughts coming to their minds about the events of the past year. The road they walked on was smooth and paralleled the ocean. Carol directed her friend to an outcropping of rocks and bade him to sit down. 

Kenny watched his fellow ambassador…wait, would they still be ambassadors? It had been three years.

“How are you doing Kenny?” 

Through the sound of her voice, Kenny knew what the question was about. He remained quiet for a long moment, looking out at the distant rumble of the ocean. 

“I miss her,” he said simply.

Carol chose her next words carefully, “You never cried. At her funeral, you never cried.”

Kenny quickly dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hands, “Never you mind. We need to figure out what we’ll be telling TIM and the Trig of our absence. I’m sure they’ve replaced us by now.”

Carol filed away the information for another time, but not too much time. She could see Kenny was hurting but could not release his grief, not yet anyhow. They went through the timeline of their journey. 

“We were visiting Earth and my sister Jennifer broke out,” she started.

“Peter, Warren and Kim came to Earth to capture a renegade Time Guardian whom we later found out was Peter’s father, Zetner,” Kenny added, “Funny that Peter said this was his first ever mission.”

“Yes, such a joke that was,” Carol grumbled to herself.

Kenny caught an unaccustomed look about his friends face in regards to Peter. He had known that she always had a bit of a fondness for the young-looking Time Guardian since they had first met on Rabowski’s spaceship, however, the perturbed emotion he was receiving from her now in relation to their time guardian friend was new. 

Carol caught Kenny’s questioning face, “Well, if it was his first mission as he stated, then he had to have known who I was when I first met him.”

Kenny caught the slight frustration in his friend’s voice. There seemed to be a touch of betrayal cross her mind also and he couldn’t blame her for having suspicions of her friend from time. Indeed, things never seemed to be as they were whenever Peter was around.

“I’m surprised you didn’t mention it to him when we were at the Time Nexus,” Kenny brought up.

Carol shook her head, “Too concerned about getting back to our own time, I suppose. We were pretty much on the go once we left Earth’s past.”

Kenny gazed in the direction of the small village they had decided they were going to earlier on as a thought occurred to him, “Didn’t he say he was to be the Time Guardian Representative for our specific era? Maybe you can ask him when we get back.”

“Oh, believe me, I will,” Carol spoke in a voice which Kenny picked up on, assuring him that the next time Peter came into her life, the Time Guardian would be on the receiving end of a good dressing down. 

“Okay, where did we leave off at with this vocal report draft?” Kenny said.

“One thing led to another which found ourselves with Zetner when he utilized an unauthorized time travel device which threw us back approximately 10,000 years in Earth’s past,” Carol said.

“A closed time era for this planet apparently,” Kenny reminded.

“We wound up in Autumn and Ariel’s village,” Carol immediately saw the fleeting facial recognition of her dear friend as the latter’s name was mentioned, she had almost stopped but felt it wouldn’t help Kenny come to terms with the recent events, and so continued, “and recovered for a month before traveling to the coastline to get to a place which could possibly help us get back to our own time,” 

Kenny said, “Who knew that we were going to Atlantis,” he said, an authentic and slightly awed sound came from his voice.

Carol continued, “We arrived, but never had the chance to find out then because they were invaded by the Kulthan, who separated us and….didn’t Warren get blinded in that raid?”

“I think so,” Kenny replied, “Anyway, we were trapped with Autumn at Atlantis and Kim and Warren were sent to work slave labor on the pyramids in the area which would become Egypt, possibly. Our powers were taken with the Kulthan machine. We escaped and found Warden Brosef and the Starbird in what could’ve been Scotland, going by the map layouts.”

“We then made plans to rescue Warren and Kim and ran into Jedikiah….again,” she was slightly agitated with the mention of the Tomorrow People’s arch enemy, whom they had met in the most unlikely of places and time.

“We rescued them, turned off the machine, slowly regained our powers and proceeded to return to Autumn and Ariel’s village but got sidetracked with going to Atlantis to rescue Warden Brosef just as the whole continent sank,” Kenny continued

“Got back to the village just in time to prevent Jedikiah from retrieving the crystal necessary to travel back to our time,” Carol said.

Kenny added, “But the crystal only carried us forward to the official Time Nexus Headquarters for that particular era, which was expected. Peter and Zetner left and their associates fixed the ship as best they could to have us come to this time.”

Carol thought for a second, “I know Warden Brosef said he was Autumn’s guardian, but I still have some serious inquiries about where he came from.”

Kenny regarded his friend for a bit, “You’re still convinced he wasn’t of that time?”

“I would think Staarla constantly playing music from Queen would be a dead giveaway,” Carol deadpanned, “also, Warden never had a hard time with our language like Autumn and Ariel did. Some of his slang felt like it came from our century. Occasionally I would get surface images of castles and current technology. And what was going on in Earth’s orbit when we left? It looked like some space battle.”

Kenny remembered the hasty leaving of Earth to get to the specific coordinates Warden Brosef and Staarla had programmed into the Starbird to time travel to their correct time. 

“Probably just a battle with Kulthans and whatever enemy they had at the time. Jedikiah was never one to make friends, probably his fault when he followed us to Ariel’s village. I’m sure he had to disobey his Kulthan overlords to attempt to keep the crystal out of our hands,” Kenny shrugged. 

Carol let out an exasperated sigh. Kenny turned straight to her, “We should relax. We’ve literally been on the go for the last couple weeks. We’re home now, that’s what matters.”

“You’re right, of course” she said, suddenly energetic and determined. “Let’s call TIM and the others, I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic to hear we’ve come back.”

Kenny nodded and they telepathically called out to their biotronic friend. When nothing happened, they called out instead to John, Stephen, Elizabeth, Tyso and that new kid….Mike. Curiously, they did not get a response from any of them. They resolved to keep walking to the village to pick up some food and then jaunt back to the Starbird and find out why nobody was responding to their telepathic summons.

***

It was later in the day when Staarla came up with a list of repairs needed to make the spacecraft in reasonably nominal shape to leave the Earth on its journey to the Galactic Trig Station. It wasn’t as serious as the crew had initially thought. Many of the crafts systems were offline or off stabilized, just needing to be put back in its proper place. However, the time crystal used to go through the time lanes was all but dead, there would be no using that source ever again for any long-distance time travel; however, it had done its job to get them back as close to the year they had left as possible. Staarla had recommended they take the crystal out to avoid any unexpected leaks or radiation to affect the engines. The crew attempted again to contact TIM, John and the rest but were taken aback by the lack of responses they rightly felt their voices would elicit. 

“You think they’re in trouble?” Warren asked, concerned.

They were seated in the main section of the ship, immediately down the hall from the cockpit, waiting for Staarla to organize the events of the last month so they could get a sense of reacclimating to their present world.

“We can’t really do anything until we know what’s going on in the world. For all we now, they’re all off-world. It wouldn’t be the first time Timus gave them a mission to perform for the Trig.” Kim said.

Carol and Kenny nodded in agreement, concern still etched on the former Trig ambassadors’ faces.

|I am listening to some interesting information on your analog news waves….apparently, there have been visits from aliens from outside your world recently|

Carol’s eyebrows raised in surprise and she noticed everyone in the cabin had similar responses, “Staarla, is there any way to bring the audio or visual online?”

|Certainly|

All eyes turned to the holographic visuals which appeared in the middle of the room. Footage of Earth’s recent events with the Sorson and Thargon Empires came to the fore. The news story went through the complete details of the crisis beginning with the Howdy Neighbor destruction, the miraculous survival of astronauts named Morgan Evans and Dave Ricardo, the arrival of a Sorson emissary at America’s White House, and the Sorsons’ eventual departure. Subsequent footage detailed emergency assemblies at the United Nations which went from confirming the realities of the Sorsons to accusing the United States of a blatant hoax, designed to cover up the extraordinary circumstances the planet had just experienced. It was a chaotic scene playing out in the Assemblies.

“Sounds like John and Elizabeth and the rest have been pretty busy, I suspect,” Kenny replied, “the Saps aren’t taking any of this too well.”

“Going by the U.N. and the other media footage, seems like many are convinced it was all an elaborate ruse of some sort to benefit the United States,” Kim observed.

“We should find them before we let our families know we’re okay,” Carol explained.

“Oh?” Warren questioned, surprised that Carol, who had a family she hadn’t seen in too long, would present this suggestion, “Why is that?”

Carol looked at each of her friends for a moment longer than necessary as she gathered her thoughts, she noticed Kim in particular had a focused look towards her. “There was not one word about our involvement in any of this. And you know John and the others would have gotten tangled up in this situation, one way or the other. I believe to keep the families who are on Earth from further harm by our governments due to our familial associations with them, or otherworldly individuals, we should not reveal ourselves just yet. At least not until we’ve contacted John and the others. We have no idea of what else has happened which has not been revealed on the news stations so far. In fact, we have no idea what’s been going on here for the past three years.”

Carol was annoyed by her own honestly raw and logical statement as the others discussed it over. Too many events during their time in Earth’s past had changed them fundamentally, in regards to how they reacted and responded to danger and perceived threats.

“We could just jaunt to the Lab,” Warren suggested, “We do have these jaunting bands which can help us with distance until our powers return completely.”

Kenny regarded his band which was attached to his wrist. He had forgotten when he had put it on. It was a small and simple mechanism, much better and easier to carry then the jaunting belts ever were. As he stared at the band, it had suddenly occurred to him that the band’s creator, Warden Brosef had mentioned the mechanism could also pick up on biotronic signatures, in collaboration with the technology on the Starbird.

“Could we utilize the tech from the ship in conjunction with the band and find TIM?” Kenny wanted confirmation of his thoughts.

|The technology you are referring to Kenny, is currently unavailable due to damage taken from our last time trip|. Staarla replied.

“I checked the consoles and wiring connected with this specific conception and we could repair it. I’ll need Warren and Kim’s assistance,” Autumn said.

Warren held back a chuckle regarding Autumn’s mixture of English words, silently noting her mix-up of conception instead of contraption. Still, dwelling on her occasional language mix-ups wouldn’t help the current situation right now, so he wisely held his tongue. He glanced at Kim who had a reassuring and respectful acknowledgement of Warren’s silent action. This surprised him, but wasn’t totally unexpected, as the two of them had been through enough crisis situations the past year. They had really started to know each other through the trials and hardships they had experienced with the Kulthan slave pits, and his temporary blindness. He couldn’t help but notice a slight shy smile tug at a corner of his mouth. A very new response to Kim’s gaze.

“Why us in particular?” Kim quickly asked, getting the subject back on track.

Autumn hesitated for a bit as she worked on responding to the ATP’s question, “The two of you have shown a remarkable affinity to the workings of this ship. Combined with Staarla and myself, we should be able to come up with at least a staple……stable, temporary fix…enough to find your TIM.”

The auxiliary room was quiet as the telepaths individually mulled over the suggestion. Kim and Carol looked at each other, as if they knew what they were going to say. They both nodded and smiled a bit.

Carol spoke up, “Then I’m going to take Kenny with me and we’re going to jaunt to the Lab while you four get started on this project. We’ll take stun guns in case we get into any trouble.”

Warren noticed an annoyed look cross Kenny’s face at the mention that he would be accompanying Carol on another expedition. The pilot of the Starbird was starting to feel bad for the former Spyra ambassador. While everyone had gone through intense trials throughout their Atlantis/Kulthan journey, Kenny had found something very valuable and rare, only to have lost it near the end of their odyssey. He couldn’t imagine what his friend was going through. He suspected Kenny wanted to talk with Autumn, but it looked like it would have to wait, once again. He felt a rough tap on his shoulder, causing him to come back to the present.

“You okay?” concern on Kim’s voice.

“Of course,” Warren replied, noticing for the first time that Carol and Kenny were no longer present and Autumn could be heard going down the stairs.

“Let’s go, we’re headed to the rear of the ship to see what damage has been done,” Kim said.

He watched as his now co-pilot went downstairs after Autumn. He quickly regarded how their relationship had changed over the past year as he followed after her. 

We’ve certainly have come a long way since we first met all those years ago, he thought, and then chided himself, as that it had only been three years since they had started working together. Or six years, or six thousand. Time travel could make even a telepath get confused regarding chronological events.

***

Carol and Kenny could only stare in amazement at their hometown of London. Living in a setting which utilized ancient technology which leaned more to the organic and natural environment, the steel architecture and modern amenities in a place they hadn’t seen for over a year caused them to act like out of country tourists. Indeed, there was the whiff of chips saturating the air, causing both their mouths to water. Carol had to remind her younger friend of the mission they were on and could frequent the tavern after they made contact with their friends. They headed toward an alley, making sure they were alone, and utilizing their memory of where the Lab was, they jaunted.

Carol and Kenny appeared in a little used section of the Underground. They looked around to catch their bearings before beginning their trek to the Lab. After a few minutes, Carol spoke that she needed to rest. During their time at the Time Nexus, both Peter and Zetner had warned them that it would take a while for their powers to return to the level of strength they were used to before being taken by the Kulthan rays; and as such, their physical bodies would tire out quicker for even the shortest of jaunts during the extended recovery period. 

“I feel like I’m still running on adrenaline,” Carol tiredly said as she leaned against the brick wall. 

Kenny nodded in agreement as he looked about his surroundings. He had noticed that even while they had gotten back to their own time, they were still reacting like they were on the run. Which was understandable, particularly within the past month. He caught a glimpse of himself in a discarded, cracked mirror that was propped against the wall a few feet away. 

“Carol, look at this.”

The blond telepath and former ambassador came up to Kenny and stood next to him, regarding their current look. They both had changed and by the looks of it, had lost some weight in their lost year. Kenny’s head was starting to develop some fuzz on top, but was still bald from the time he had spent in the worker’s pit at a Kulthan facility. Carol’s usual blonde hair which she usually kept trimmed to her neck was more a dirty blonde color, long, and unkempt looking. They both looked slightly gaunt in the face and their bodies betrayed a tiredness which was long in the making from their prior adventure. 

“I’m going to soak in a long hot bath when we get home,” Carol said quietly.

“Would’ve been nice if Peter and his family would’ve allowed us to clean up a bit before sending us on our way,” Kenny grumpily said. 

They continued to walk in silence for a bit. Carol was figuring out how to broach the subject of Ariel again when something had caught Kenny’s vision. She followed his gaze and realized that they had already reached the area where the lab was, but the door was completely missing. They looked at each other, wariness in their eyes, and simultaneously drew out their stun guns. They moved forward slowly. 

The two telepaths cautiously made their way into what was left of the former Lab. Surprisingly, the inside wasn’t in as terrible disrepair as the outside was. However, the Lab had been clear of anything resembling technology or a lived-in status.

“It almost looks the same as when we first moved in, remember Carol?” Kenny asked.

Carol nodded, fond memories of establishing the Lab came unbidden in her mind.

“As bare as these walls are, I’m beginning to think that they moved the Lab to a different location,” Kenny commented.

Carol slowly nodded in agreement, “Finely settled dust and no damage anywhere, I think you’re right,” the young blonde turned to the young man, “so where could they be? And why doesn’t TIM answer?”

A sharp noise caused them both to turn their heads toward the entrance. They remained silent for a few seconds as the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. They quickly hid behind a wall and peeked around as they saw two shapes cautiously enter the room. The two telepaths took in the stature of the mysterious individuals, two males barely out of their teens by the look of it. 

There seemed to be a look of disappointment on their faces as they looked about the former Lab, taking in its current physical environment. 

Kenny noticed they were unusually quiet with their search. He watched as the older one signaled for the other to retreat back to the outside. As quickly as they had come, they were gone.

[Warren…. Kim, can you hear me?] Carol telepathically sent.

[[We hear you Carol]].

It was Warren who had responded and a fleeting memory came up in Carol’s mind; a conversation her and Warren had when she was temporarily on self-exile from her home after the rescue of her sister from the Frakth, due to her parents’ reactions of her time spent with the other telepaths that past year fighting Jedikiah and Spidron. 

Quiet and simpler times, she tiredly thought.

[[Go ahead Carol]]. Warren reiterated. 

[The Lab is gone. Kenny and I believe that John and the others moved the facilities elsewhere. There’s no sign of anything out of the ordinary. However, we encountered a few people who came here and seemed to know exactly what it was they were looking for. We’re not sure if they’re allies, friends, or enemies. Kenny and I will follow them to get some answers. We’ll be back soon].

[[Okay, no unnecessary chances. We think we might be able to fix the tech enough to find where TIM is. Hopefully from there, we’ll be able to find the others]]. Warren replied.

[We’ll keep you in the loop]. Carol signed off and looked at Kenny, who continued to have a wistful look of nostalgia on his face as he took in the now-empty residence. 

“Are you ready, Kenny?” she quietly asked.

“Did you ever think that when we found this place, of the adventures we would have?” he looked at her, a slightly sad longing on his facial features, “I wish I could’ve shown this place to Ariel, she would’ve loved it.”

Carol could only regard her friend with sympathetic eyes and an understanding of all he had gone through in the past year. She could tell he was still containing his grief. She was hoping after all this was over, and they had time, they he would finally surrender himself to the mourning process. Until then, she would just support his current attitude. The two original Tomorrow People proceeded to the door of their once safe home, they did not look back.

***

[[Come toward the biotronic valve just a bit more. Now use the molecular vibration tool to remove the extra metal. Easy now…there! Good!]] Autumn loudly exhaled a joyous exclamation.

Warren and Kim slowly came present back in the world, the images of the equipment and telekinetic repair already receding from their collective interior minds. 

Kim regarded the instrument she had utilized with appreciation as she set it back into the tool chest on the nearby table, “What’s the range on this instrument, Autumn?”

Autumn contemplated the question for a quick second, “I’m not too sure. I recall Warden saying it had a minimum range of changing and adapting the molecular structure of an object within a one boot square radius and a maximum of a five boot radius. Just be careful when you use it, as it can put a hole into any object you point it at.”

Warren couldn’t help but notice the casual way Autumn had referenced square foot into square boot. He was beginning to find her language quirks to be somewhat endearing of her character. An authentic smile involuntarily came to his features as he closed the utility wall and locked it. 

“How is it now, Staarla?” Kim asked, in between a yawn which refused to back down. It had been nearly two hours since they started the repairs; an hour since they last heard from Carol and Kenny. However, all Kim wanted was a break from the constant routine they all had gotten used to within the past year. She barely paid Warren any mind as he put the tool case in a closet near the rear of the hall.

|I believe that should take care of it| Staarla said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“You don’t sound too convinced,” Warren noticed as he walked back.

|I feel that if we fix the teleporter prompt, we will have more power for the biotronic scanner| 

The holographic image of the Staarla appeared as the three ATP’s mulled over her response.

“How long?” Warren asked, a tinge of wariness evident in his voice.

|Considering what has been repaired so far, and the way the ship responds to your telepathy, it should not take no more than fifteen minutes|

“Just a minute Staarla,” Kim spoke, [[Carol, Kenny, how goes your surveillance of the two individuals you’ve mentioned earlier]]?

[We’re still following them, Kim. They’ve gone to a few interesting places so far.] Kenny pathed.

[[I’m thinking if you two haven’t found anything that is peculiar about them, you should come back here within the next thirty minutes. We’ve almost repaired what we need to find TIM]]

[We’ll give it another fifteen minutes, all they’ve done is go to an arcade and visited some friends of theirs]. Carol interjected.

Kim caught the frustrated tone in Carol’s response. 

[They’re headed to a pub, we’ll rest there and try and find out what their deal is].

[[Okay, keep in contact if things get wonky]]. Kim replied.

[Did you actually say wonky? You are tired, aren’t you]? Carol teasingly said.

Kim chuckled a bit, thankful she was able to get a positive reaction from her friend. 

[[Indeed. See you soon]].

Kim exhaled slowly and caught the looks she received from the remaining crew of the Starbird.

“Staarla, how did you come about the name for this ship?” Kim asked suddenly.

The question seemed to have caught the holographic entity off-guard, indeed, the question was very unexpected of their pilot.

|I do not know. Warden said the name when I woke up, I just assumed that it was the name of the craft|

“Woke up? What do you mean by that?” Kim asked as she observed Warren yawning and stretching his arms above his head.

Staarla elaborated, |When Warden found the ship, he turned it on. I came online with it. It is really quite simple|

Kim caught the curious look from Warren, however, she pressed on, “Then you’re attached to the ship, considering the multiple biotronic units and fluid tubes running throughout, are you the ship itself?”

The three crew members looked closely at Staarla, their individual curiosity rising as the female holographic image continued to contemplate the question. |I suppose I am| she finally said.

“You don’t know?” Autumn inquired.

Autumn’s question confirmed to Kim that even the former village princess was in the dark about Staarla’s abilities and functions. Indeed, her mentor-father Warden, who apparently had a vast and intimate knowledge of this ship, was still as mysterious as when they had first met, and he seemed to have an agenda to ensure that they were able to get back to their own time, regardless of the consequences to himself or the Earth environment of over 10,000 years ago. 

There was an unaccustomed silence permeating through the section as they individually evaluated the answers to the question Staarla had responded to. Mostly, it was about who this Staarla and ship really were. The events of the past couple months had left them little time to thoroughly question their crew member who assisted Warren and Kim in their piloting. And since Warden Brosef was killed in the past, there would be no way of really finding out Staarla’s origins. At least not until they could find an engineer on par with Warden’s talents who could fix the ship up to its usual standard.

Warren broke the silence, “Well, I say we get back to work. Questions for another day, I’m sure.”

“Indeed, “Autumn said.

The crew of the Starbird proceeded to their next chore in the never-ending repairs to the ship. 

***

The atmosphere in the pub was starting to become active due to people getting off from their workday. Carol and Kenny had ordered a pint and some chips. It was something Kenny had always wanted to do when he got older, to taste alcohol. However, the beer continued to sit untouched as the young former ambassador hesitated. Carol was doing her best to pick up on the conversation their unknown people were having, but so far, all they had really done for the past ten minutes was to order their own food and still maintained an unusual, nervous quiet they had displayed in their former Lab.

“I told you,” Carol said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“Well, I had to try. I celebrated my eighteenth birthday off-world,” Kenny remarked, disappointment coming from his tone.

“Oh my God!” Carol suddenly exclaimed.

Kenny reacted, ready to fight or jaunt, but the upraised hand she had just as readily put up calmed him just as quickly. He nervously looked around, wondering if anyone had seen what he just did. 

“We’ve only aged one year. You’re still fifteen years old. It never fully registered to me that…oh dear,” Carol miserably said.

Kenny immediately came to her rescue as he put a comforting hand over hers, “Your husband will still adore you Carol. Don’t worry.”

The bond they had developed over the past year had only solidified throughout their trials in the past. Carol was appreciative of Kenny’s words, but he didn’t have a young toddler whom she had missed out on raising. First steps, first teeth, first words, all those lost times. 

“Carol, you okay?” Kenny asked.

Before she could respond, she caught an individual who had since sat with their mysterious duo and was engaged in active conversation with them. They ate their chips as they listened in through the increasingly loud patronage.

“Douglas, Paul, I’ve made contact with the rest of our group,” said the recently arrived individual who was wearing a dark colored beret.

“What was their response?” the one named Douglas asked.

The younger looking male named Paul nervously took a gulp of his beer before responding, “They said that it has begun, haven’t they? The three will arrive sometime within the next twenty-fours, if not sooner?”

The two telepaths could pick up on the nervousness emanating from the three, indeed, the one called Paul who had responded with the two questions, was seemingly close to experiencing authentic dread. 

The older man took a stern voice to him, “Calm down Mr. Fraiser, this is something you were trained for….what our institution has always trained for.”

“Yes, do control yourself Paul,” the slightly older man in his early twenties added, an annoyed tone in his voice.

“Shut up, Douglas,” his companion hissed out

A simmering look of anger appeared on the younger man’s face, which seemed to bring about a positive and smirking satisfaction to Douglas’s own facial features.

“At ease, the both of you. You’re better than this. Act like it. Resume your mission. From here on out, no visiting with friends or relatives. I’ll be getting back into uniform within the day. Your knowledge of the location of the component is vital in our plans. Trust no one,” the man said in no uncertain terms.

Carol and Kenny observed as the two young men stood in quick succession and made their way out the place. The older man sat back in his chair, sighed, and took out what appeared to be a neck chain with an earring size red crystal attached to it. He absently played with it with his finger and thumb with a strong nervousness that even the two telepaths could easily pick up from in the crowded pub.

“Well, looks like it’s time to go,” Kenny said as he began to rise from his seat.

“No pint then?” Carol said in a slight teasing voice.

“Obviously not,” Kenny replied, more harshly then he needed to.

Kenny’s response had brought Carol’s lightness up short and she was slightly disconcerted by her friend’s response. Hang in there Kenny, she thought.

***  
The crew of the Starbird caught up with each other’s individual tasks. The technology from the ship they would need to find TIM was as good as it was going to get with what they had. The more interesting conversation was about the three individuals which Carol and Kenny had followed. 

“Could they have been friends of John and the others?” Kim asked.

“I honestly couldn’t say. They didn’t remind me of anyone we’re familiar with.” Carol replied.

Warren mulled it over a bit, “Well, what about these three, important people arriving by tomorrow, and this rendezvous?’

“We already explained, Warren, they didn’t give much for us to work with in their conversation. However, they were quite jumpy and paranoid, and I think the person who met them was associated with the military. He had that type of bearing,” Kenny said, slight impatience in his voice.

Autumn regarded her bond-brother. They needed to talk soon about Ariel. Specific traditions would need to be upheld and initiated. There had been no time to start any of it due to the extremely limited time they had to reach the time window after their final battle with the Kulthan and Jedikiah. 

|So what is our plan now|? Staarla inquired. 

This was a question which had an immediate answer. The crew agreed to utilize their jaunting bands to search for TIM. Without missing a beat, they proceeded to gather up the items they would need.

“Shall I come a lot also?” Autumn asked.

“Come along?” Kim corrected. She looked at the others. It was plain that they all were worried about Autumn being in an unfamiliar place and time. London was a lot different from the ancient villages and cities she was used to seeing, but Autumn’s ATP status could only assist them in finding TIM faster.

“Grab your stuff. We leave in two minutes.” Kim relented.

Autumn was grateful that Kim was involving her in the mission. Ever since she had arrived here, she felt that the rest of the crew were uncharacteristically protecting her from the environment of their time. It was something she wasn’t used to and refused to become the weak link she assumed they were seeing her as.

Kim felt Kenny’s eyes bearing down on her, “Any issues Kenny?”

Kenny had a retort in mind, but thought better of it after seeing Kim’s face and attitude. Concluding that she would be in charge of this mission, he turned and went to collect his equipment.

Kim watched as the young man retreated toward the back and caught the concerned looks of Carol and Warren. 

“Sooner we find TIM and the others, the sooner we can relax,” she explained.

Warren and Carol both nodded in agreement. 

***  
The Starbird crew jaunted to a lesser populated part of a park in London. They would utilize the combined telepathic search habits which Carol, John, and Kenny had applied when they had first found Stephen all those years ago, and what Kim employed from with tricks from the Trig and Galactic Police. This combined with the biotronic technology embedded in their jaunting bands would hopefully prompt a response and location from their friends.

The expectation was one of immense proportion to the time spent on bringing systems up to standard. It would be good to hear the voices of friends whom they haven’t spoken to for the past year. Carol, Kenny, Warren, Kim, and Autumn had all jaunted to various areas throughout London. While there was concern about Autumn being on her own near a city she could not have conceived of during her lifetime, it was determined that she would apply her abilities from within a local park. 

Staarla observed each of their bio-signatures online, insuring their health statuses were within reasonable measurements. She could hear their individual telepathic summons to their friends. Could sense the approaching disappointment and concern as their pleas went unanswered.

[[Wait, I thought I heard something]] Autumn said.

There was immediate quiet throughout the telepathic realm. Autumn called out again.

[[TIM, can you hear me?]]

The silence continued and Autumn was about to dismiss what she had heard as her imagination.

|Hello, who is this?|

Autumn was slightly shocked as the voice turned out to be real.

[[Hello, are you TIM?]]

|I am TIM, are you from the Galactic Trig?|

[[No, I’m not. I’m from…..listen, I…we have been looking for you and your friends all day, where are you?]]

|You must go back and send a message to John and Elizabeth, tell them to not go to the Lab. We have been discovered……|

The voice Autumn had heard was fraught with concern and fear as it started to dissipate. Autumn called out to that voice again but continued to get no answer. She felt the presence of four telepaths as they jaunted from their respective areas.

“I heard him!” Carol said, “TIM, please answer us! What’s going on? Where are you?”

Kim calmed her dirty blond friend down as she telepathically called out to TIM. 

“I did hear him Carol!” Kenny excitedly proclaimed.

Warren took lookout point while the rest were attempting to calm their words to Autumn, who was doing her best to explain exactly what TIM had said. He was getting a bad sense that something was not right in the park. These senses had been developed during his years on the streets, became a reliable foundation when working secret missions with Kim and the team of ATP’s for the Galactic Trig, and honed to a razor’s edge during their recent time in Earth’s past evading Kulthan, Jedikiah, and various other bothersome individuals. He continued to look around and abruptly noticed the emptiness of the environment. He spoke Kim’s name as he continued to look around and saw it.

A regular looking car by the look of it but the people within were intently staring in his direction. The driver appeared to be talking into a mike and, Warren noticed, was looking in a specific direction. He shifted his eyes towards the area the driver was focused on and saw another vehicle, a black van. Warren continued to look around and captured another group of people in the direction that the front of the van was pointed at…and their activity reminded him of what soldiers usually did when they were setting up for a specific job of capture.

[[We have unfriendlies, people.]]

The group abruptly ceased their conversation, all eyes turned to Warren, who subtlety pointed out with his eyes and head where the unwanted people were. A quick movement made by one of the people in the distance was all that was needed for Carol to telepathically tell everyone to jaunt, but she was a split second too late as a sound pierced through their heads. The sound continued, partially drowning out their telepathic screams to each other, however, one word continued to come through.

Jaunt!

***

It had been just under two minutes before Majors Ann Turner and Archie Hughes hastily jogged the distance from their vehicles towards a brown-haired figure laying on the grass, unconscious.

“Quickly, give her the antidote and then take her to the back of the van. We won’t have to worry about her teleporting away once she’s in there,” the leader of the SIS Assault Squad tersely spoke, catching the eye of her male counterpart who backed off a bit. 

Major Hughes had seen this characteristic of Major Turner and there would definitely be hell to pay for whoever tipped their hand too early. The presence of the expected male presence coming up from behind him confirmed his thoughts.

Major Turner furiously turned to their “guest”, “You were given explicit instructions not to fire. You’ve ruined any chances of a peaceful discussion with these telepaths.”

“We do not discuss, we control,” the doctor shot back, “This type of action is completely unacceptable.”

“You will mind your tone Dr. Laird, you are only here as a consultant and advisor on the current situation, remember your place,” Major Hughes reminded the physician. 

Major Turner had enough and ordered a few of her troops to take the doctor back to the rear, where he would be dealt with.

“We will not rest until this threat is resolved. This is what we have been training for! These so-called discussions should not be tolerated!” Dr. Laird loudly responded as he was roughly led back to the waiting squad down the grassy hill.

Major Hughes thought quickly to distract his female counterpart from the unfocused emotions she was feeling, “I didn’t recognize that telepath,” referring to the unconscious young woman whom they tagged.

Major Turner faced the officer as she recalled the young woman’s face and those of her friends, “I didn’t recognize any of them. Apparently, their ranks have expanded. TIM has not been too honest with his information.” 

“You can’t really blame him…..it…that. What type of computer did he say he was again?”

“Never mind,” Major Turner said brusquely, still eyeing Dr. Laird and slowly shaking her head back and forth, “The SIS working alongside the remnants of these cultists, insufferable.”

“Indeed,” Major Hughes snorted, “Whose brilliant idea was it to have these crazies on this mission?”

They began the walk back to their parked military unit, already packing up their equipment, “We follow orders Hughes, and right now with all the craziness that’s been going on this past month, we are short on assistance and long on having to work with people such as this. Apparently, the doctor and his followers have troubling information on an alien, or aliens, who managed to sneak onto our planet during this so-called Thargon/Sorson Incident. I was hoping to have the assistance of the Tomorrow People since it is suspected that these aliens are of the telepathic persuasion.”

Major Hughes inwardly snickered at the mention of “assistance”. Taking the telepaths’ mobile computer unit was to have been a motivating factor in ensuring their cooperation, but there had been no sign of these Tomorrow People since the incident’s end a few weeks prior. 

“Alright everyone, back to headquarters. I want the female secured and watched at all times when we place her in the medical wing. Lt. Corwin, secure and ready a detail for that specific action when we arrive. Lt. Jones, take the convoy for the mobile computer detachment and take this route. It’s a bit longer but in case something happens, one part of the convoy will still have an individual to bargain with”

The officer acknowledged her orders and barked out his own to the soldiers under his command, moving swiftly and smartly.

The two SIS officers took either seat in the back of the car continuing their conversation as the unit commenced to return to their headquarters.

“Is there another reason why they’re involved in this operation?” Major Hughes inquired, still puzzled as to why the SIS was taking such great pains to retain their services.

“Are you really insisting that I remind you of our mission and duty?” Major Turner asked, annoyed bemusement reflected on her features.

“Of course, I do, but…” the SIS officer could only trail off in slight embarrassment.

Major Turner sighed, “I realize this has been quite last minute and you haven’t had the chance to get up to date on our recent activities, which I shall rectify once we get to headquarters.”

A phone rang at the front of the car, which a junior officer answered, and immediately gave to the commanding female officer.

“It’s for you, mam.”

Major Hughes observed her bring the phone to her ear and listened to the voice at the other end. 

“Are you still in communication with the two men?”

More responses as she shook her head, apparently pleased with this outcome.

“Continue to stay with them to solidify their trust in you. We’re going to have need of them when Dr. Laird reveals his traitorous motives and then we’ll be forced to keep him in line with their presence,” she paused as she listened the voice for another minute, “Obviously, carry on.”

Major Hughes looked at his commanding officer for a bit before nervously looking forward at the convoy. He couldn’t decide if he had made an excellent career move by working with this officer or had gotten himself into some type of mixed up conspiracy, and with all that had been going on the past couple weeks since the recent global incident, he preferred to think of the former. 

***  
Carol, Kenny, Warren, and Kim materialized, dropping immediately to the ground, a terrible pain resonating in their heads. Staarla appeared, her holographic image showing concern and distress as she asked what she could do to help them. After a few minutes, they began to ascertain a better grasp of their surroundings. As they began to call out their names, they realized one name was not heard from. Staarla confirmed that Autumn had not jaunted with them.

The foursome gathered themselves up and immediately went inside the Starbird to look for their friend, Staarla initiating a quick health screen as they proceeded toward the cockpit. As the crew settled into their seats initiating the start-up sequence, Staarla spoke a quick summary of what exactly had happened to them.

|You had some type of radiation which if fully absorbed, would have, for lack of a better word, jammed your powers|

“Then it’s a fortunate thing that we jaunted when we did,” Carol spoke.

“Staarla, where is Autumn, can you locate her?” Kenny asked.

Warren and Kim noticed the fearfulness in Kenny’s voice but said nothing as they continued their start-up sequences. 

|Scanning|

“I don’t understand why she wasn’t able to jaunt with us,” Kim said.

“Too much environmental stimulation,” Warren said, bringing his former medicalspeak into play, “I’m sure it affected her responses just enough for her to misjudge her timing.”

|Autumn, are you there?|

It was TIM and for a split second, there was a shocked quiet and lack of movement on everyone’s part. Carol spoke up.

[TIM, it’s Carol. Where are you?]

The crew of the Starbird could hear the very heartfelt and surprised voice of their biotronic friend repeat her name, and then everyone else’s as they telepathically spoke. While not the reunion they had been hoping for, it was a connection which everyone was eager to experience soon. 

|Carol, Kenny, Warren, Kim…..it is so good to hear your voices once more|

However, the current situation meant that they would have to wait on the hugs and kisses until everything was rectified, starting with TIM.

[TIM, we’re coming to get you, would you happen to know where you are?] Carol pathed.

|Currently, I am unable to ascertain my position, however I am able to communicate with you, and this is most fortunate. I believe one of the soldiers did not do a very good job at initiating whatever was blocking my telepathic communications|

Staarla chimed in, |I can ascertain his position via his biotronic signatures Carol|

A quick holographic GPS reading was brought up in front of their forward window, showcasing TIM’s exact position…somewhere in the countryside on the outskirts of London.

“Let’s get to it,” Warren said as he and Kim finished with their final check-ups of their start-up sequence.

The rumble of the engines increased as the ship slowly rose from its landing spot, began to hover and slowly moved forward. The two ATP pilots continued their improvised pilotspeak form utilized from their unorthodox practices and campaigns of the past couple months. While they had become more familiar with the workings of the Starbird, there was still much about the spacecraft which they still did not understand. 

[Warren, what about Autumn? We still don’t know where she is] Kenny said.

Kim took a quick glance at her co-pilot before resuming her pilot collaboration. One of the interesting things about the past year was each person’s skill set was utilized, prompting that individual to take charge in certain instances. It was something they all had learned about with each other during their stay in Earth’s past and it had allowed them to survive countless dangerous situations. One of Warren’s developed skills was prioritizing goals within situations which required quick thought and action, which, she was reluctant to admit, sometimes surpassed her own. 

“One thing at a time Kenny. If we’re lucky, she’s with TIM and we can grab them both at the same time.”

Kenny’s silence was confirmation for Warren that the young man had agreed, albeit reluctantly, and he hated himself for having had to be so cold about it. Autumn was an important person in Kenny’s life now. But Warren was convinced that they could find Autumn if they retrieved TIM, and find out about what had been happening with the Tomorrow People of late. Information to plan their next move.

“Staarla, will our chameleon shift still work when we jaunt TIM on board?” Warren asked.

|Unknown. We have been constantly having to sacrifice areas of defense to initiate an offense. We need a complete upgrade and tune-up|

The Starbird crew had expected that response. It had been that way throughout all their campaigns so far.

“We’ll keep the chameleon shift on until the last possible moment. If we have to turn it off to jaunt TIM in, we’ll allow the ship to appear in front of their convoy. The visual surprise should confuse them long enough for us to jaunt TIM and Autumn in,” Warren said out loud as the ship began to pick up speed. 

Carol regarded the timer reading which displayed another minute and a half to traverse the distance from their original position, which she had noticed was from the northwest portion of Scotland. 

The cockpit was an environment of focused determination as its crew prepared for yet, another campaign utilizing the ship and its abilities. 

[[Staarla, is it possible to run the electromagnetic pulse weapon when we arrive?]] Warren pathed.

|If you do, there will be a seventy-three percent certainty I will be unable to maintain the chameleon shift|

[[Understood, prepare it and stand-by]]

[[Coming up on the mark]] Kim pathed.

The Starbird was coming up on the convoy from behind and shot beyond, causing a backdraft to affect the soldiers within their various transports. Lt. Jones ordered the convoy to a slow halt and barked out orders for the soldiers to take positions around the vehicle their prisoner was in. 

Lt. Jones noticed a steady vibration being felt in the air by everyone but could not visualize where it was coming from. 

Inside the cloaked Starbird, Warren and Kim were intently observing the actions of the soldiers. Kim had her hand on the controls which operated the EMP weapon, awaiting the go ahead.

[[Status Carol]] Warren pathed.

Carol and Kenny were in the lower levels of the ship, prepared to transport TIM at the earliest notice.

[We’re ready Warren]

[[Initiate]]

A new sound resonated near Carol and Kenny and throughout the jaunting area. Almost immediately, a silver steel colored object with three circular domes at its apex appeared. Carol realized the object was about a meter in height.

|Carol! Kenny!|

Carol just about cried out in relief while Kenny could only smile widely at the appearance of their biotronic friend, whom they hadn’t seen in over a year.

[Warren, we have TIM!] Kenny pathed triumphantly.

Warren barely cracked a smile as he acknowledged Kenny’s confirmation of TIM’s appearance. 

|Carol, your friend Autumn is not here, she is with the other convoy| TIM said.

[[Staarla, on my mark]] Warren pathed.

Warren had already made the decision to scare the daylights out of the soldiers once the Starbird became visually known, but a firm grip on his wrist paused his turmoiled thoughts.

[[Warren, they don’t know what we look like, they haven’t even realized TIM is gone yet. We should leave and keep our only element of surprise. TIM can probably give us ideas once we’ve had the chance to catch up on everything]]

Kim observed a slight annoyance cross Warren’s face, and just as suddenly had gone away. He realized she was right, from a campaign point of view.

[[Staarla, find us a place to hide, we’re leaving]]

|Initiated| 

Lt. Jones was not having a good day. After ordering his troops to check on the container which housed their prisoner, it was discovered the occupant was gone. The young officer could only grasp the top of his nose in nervous and fearful anticipation, sure of the dressing down he would receive when he got back to base.

***

Staarla had led Warren and Kim back up north into Scotland and found a cave immediately facing the North Sea. The pilots noticed the structure of a castle positioned more inward from the edge of the cliff. The Starbird was able to gently glide into the cave, out of sight of any potential witnesses. 

“Are you familiar with this location Staarla?” Kim inquired.

|This was where I resided until Warden woke me up| she responded.

“Staarla, perform a diagnostic on your systems of any changes which have happened to the ship during this last action. We’ll be with TIM,” Warren ordered.

|Of course. Shall I give your friends privacy with your friend?|

“I say come along. Two biotronic computers are better than one,” Warren said with a more hopeful tone in his voice.

Warren was silent as the holographic image dematerialized to perform her duties. He noticed Kim was observing him.

“We gain, we lose. I was really hoping Autumn was with TIM.”

Kim looked intently at her co-pilot, “We will find her too.”

Warren nodded his head a bit and felt Kim’s hand rest on his hand, gripping it in a reassuring way. She was wordlessly telling him that they all would see this through the end. 

“After all we’ve been through, we are not leaving her behind.”

Warren caught and agreed with Kim’s purposeful statement. 

“Time to see a friend,” he reminded her. 

Warren and Kim left the cockpit to tend to the rest of the crew and to talk with a certain biotronic computer.

***  
The three off-worlders who had completely annihilated Dr. Laird’s unit were utilizing a building in a warehouse section which was north of London. They had easily dispatched the workers who had been doing their daily routines, making their presence unknown to any potential authorities. They had been waiting for their contact for the better part of the day. The scrapping of metal on metal alerted the trio that their person of interest was here. They telekinetically glided down to the pavement as the individual with the dark colored beret walked up to them confidently.

Dark colored beret man talked, “The SIS took and fought a few telepaths earlier today. However, they do not know of your exact mission, much less who you really are.”

The lead person for the trio spoke, “What of the individuals you are associating with?”

“I am confident they have the location for one of the objects you are wanting to attain,” he said.

“Continue your task and ensure your associates find the component and continue to guide these two adversaries towards being antagonistic towards each other. The Core has found he has no further use of this….military cult and wants them eliminated.”

“So it shall be done,” 

“We shall continue to distract this SIS within a few moments. I advise you leave post-haste.”

“So it shall be done.” The man repeated as if in a trance, then turned on his heel and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction, being watched by the mostly silent trio.

***  
Dr. Laird sullenly rode in the back of one of the military vehicles, unused to this type of treatment.

Lt. Jones was going through potential events in his mind on how Major Turner would receive the bad news that the computer was no longer in their custody. Noticing peripherally their special passenger was observing him directly, he looked back. The officer noticed the occupant seemed to have a confident, yet slightly deranged look on his features. Lt. Jones had become even more nervous, an emotion the doctor had noticed. 

“No worries my dear boy,” Dr. Laird frankly stated, looking directly at the nervous officer’s eyes, “My Doomsday Men will emerge triumphant,” 

End of Part 1


End file.
